“Would you bathe in my love?…”
Carrying an impressive new album DOOL from Netherlands visited Greece for the first time and offered us a superb performance that satisfied everyone in the club. The night started earlier with a great opening act, the Athenians CHURCH OF THE SEA.
“Salt air burns in the distance…”
November 22, 2024, another Friday that we walked down Solomou street for our favorite haunt, AN club, a venue that has warmed up so many nights through years. The doors weren’t open at 20:45 so we had the chance for some small music related chatting outside the venue. When the doors finally opened we first checked the merchandise corner where you could find cds and vinyl records of the bands, some of us still try to support the bands this way as streaming isn’t really a great way to do it, neither the red hearts on social media. The music on the decks was kind of awkward but it’s ok, not a big deal…
“purple skies lurk in the dark…”
The opening act was a local band, the Athenians Church Of The Sea, that kicked off their set with XVII, a song from their Anywhere But Desert ep. It’s typical of their sound, a nice blending between doom and electro tunes. On the left of the stage Alexandros was creating soundwaves with his keys, on the right Vangelis was vibrating the venue with fuzzy guitar noise while in the middle Irene was standing like priestess, giving the tone of their music with her ethereal vocals but also her hands movements while she was holding a colorful fan. The electro beats started to match up with the audience mood that seemed hypnotized by the dark elements of the band. Most of the songs were from Odalisque album (one of the greatest Greek albums in 2022) and the truth is that their setlist didn’t really offer any changes since the last time I saw them live, which means that they should created and offer something new soon and that’s what they did when they played a new song at the middle of their set. Like always they decided to close with At The Edge Of The World
live video Church Of The Sea:
Church Of The Sea setlist:
XVII / Raindrops / (A Song About) Preparation / Siren’s Choice / Me As Water/Tree / No One Deserves / Odalisque / At The Edge Of The World
“Underneath a velvet sky…”
During the break, the music on the decks started to get more appealing so we took the necessary drink and we were ready to enjoy the band from the Netherlands. Dool is a great band that this year released a great third album, The Shape Of Fluidity and I was wondering how the band will perform it live. Unfortunately, only a few had the same question and the venue remained half full which was disappointing to see but also not a big surprise as there are tons of concerts every week and people struggling economically the last years, so they had to skip some concerts.
“The water flows in many ways…”
For me this was a hard to be missed gig, I love the band and their latest work is unique so I was just wondering what song they had in mind to play first. But before I finish my question they were on stage and they kicked off with Venus In Flames, like they do on their latest album, a composition that puts you directly in their addictive tunes. The great quintet plays like there’s no tomorrow, they are full of energy, definitely more than the fans at first, because most of them standing there dumbfounded as they try to realize what’s going on. While we take our time to end the jawdropping, the band keeps playing one great song after the other, with non stopping changes in mood and style, we know anyway that Dool is hard to be under one specific genre since the alternative rock meets progressive metal and they wisely travel from the pain of a melancholic balland to some new wave hooks of another composition, but also the tension of some heavier but also groovy songs that lead to crazy headbanging. Their music can be complicated some times but the rhythm section is solid and the (three) guitars are on fire, so every piece of the puzzle seems to be on place, they are so focused on their performance but they are seem to enjoy the show which is always a bonus during a concert. The main thing tonight is that their show flows like a river, and we are desperate to breath, it’s impossible to stop admiring them, they really hold our attention through the 80 minute set.
But, last but not least, most lights fall on Raven van Dorst in the middle of the stage, a great performance by all means, she is really into every different music note and every lyric that is delivered to us, lyrics that are personal and fully experiential, we know already that these lyrics led to the creation of the album’s concept. Raven uses her body during the performance, dances with the rhythm but also helds the fist up high during tension moments, before she get back into the mesmerizing mood of every composition, managing to light up the dark themes. At the beginning of the show she told us “This would be a night to remember” and indeed… it was 100% true….
live video Dool:
Dool Setlist:
Venus In Flames / Self Dissect / Hand Of Creation / The Shape Of Fluidity / Wolf Moon / The Alpha / Currents / Evil In You / House Of 1000 Dreams / Hermagorgon / Love Like Blood (-Killing Joke) / Oweynagat
® live report/photos/video: Konstantinos Mindcrimek Vlachos
